If you would like to subscribe to theJeanneScottletter  its free, you get what you pay for  or ask Jeanne about her speaking or consulting services  or sign on for one of her special reports, checklists, sample documents or other materials  or just to harangue and criticize, the best way is via e-mail:

Note to File:Name-change from Jeanne Scott to
Jeanne Scott Matthews. Long story here. No,
Jeanne did not re-marry, she has been married to
Rev. Matthews for nearly 30 years. But at the
time of her marriage, she was well established
and known professionally as "Jeanne Scott." Not
a time to change names, it seemed. But she did
promise Rev. Matthews that "when she turned 65
and retired" she would start using his name.

Oops, in 2008, she turned 65
and Rev. Matthews tapped her on the shoulder,
"Ahem, you promised." Jeez Louise, a promise is
a promise even if Jeanne is a veteran Washington
DC politician. Thus the adoption of the "Jeanne
Scott Matthews" sobriquet. Next time you see
him, give the Rev. Bob Matthews a hug from me.

In November 2011, the Atlantic
Monthly magazine featured a story on its web
site discussing the use of the term "Obamacare"
to describe the provisions of the 2010 "Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act ... guess who
they credited with being the very first
commentator to use the term "Obamacare" in print
.... Jeanne Schulte Scott in her March 2007
column in the Journal of the Healthcare
Financial Management Association.

while this sites political leanings may, on occasion, be all too obvious  our goal is to make everyone who visits here a lobbyist for health care to understand that the issues are extremely complex sometimes seeming virtually intractable but always challenging for those of us in the health care industry working for reform, for improvement, for greater cost effectiveness and efficiency  and for the nation's health

who we are

Jeanne Scott
Matthews has been one of the nations leading health care lobbyists
having spent
almost 40 years inside-the-beltway  working both within and without the government, directing the Washington DC office for the Catholic Healthcare Association (CHAUSA) and serving during the first Reagan administration as senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel, for the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the friendly folks that brought you DRGs and physician prospective payment under Medicare. Leaving office at the end of President Reagans first term in December 1984, she noted the piles of paper she had generated for the nations health care system, literally boxes and boxes duplicated in 5,500 hospitals, 55,000 pharmacies, and 650,000 physician offices. An Epiphany! She was personally responsible for having deforested vast acres of land for this paper now plastering the health care industry. Reformed, since then she has tried to atone herself by working for change in the way the way information is processed in health care  trying to save at least some of the estimated 1825% of health care spending that is administrative overhead  perhaps as much as
$650 BILLION
in 2010 alone. She was instrumental in founding the Association for Electronic Health Care Transactions (AFEHCT),
served on the Board and Executive Committee of
the Workgroup on EDI in Health Care (WEDi), and helped draft the original Bond Bill which became the administrative simplification provisions in HIPAA.
In 2003, she was presented with a plaque, naming
her "Grandmother of
HIPAA" by AFEHCT, for her work
getting the this landmark health care
information technology and privacy legislation drafted, passed and
implemented. She has headed an industry task force on the issues of health care privacy and security.

what you can find on this site...

theJeanneScottblog
-- many of you know that Jeanne has been the
victim of the healthcare industrial complex for
the past couple of years. In late August 2009,
she underwent open-heart surgery at the Duke
University Cardiovascular Center for bilateral mitral valve repair. The
surgery, done laproscopically (that's why she
went to Duke, other surgeons said they would
have to open her chest and replace the valve as
both flaps were "prolapsing." <sigh>). And Dr.
Donald Glower was able to repair her heart (yes,
this proves that a politician does have a heart)
using an annuloplasty ring to hold the repaired
valve in place (basically a "hairnet" over the
heart. The procedure involved 7 hours on a heart
lung machine and Dr. Glower actually took the
time for a couple of Kodak moments. See below. Long story short,
Jeanne's previous autoimmune disease coupled
with the anti-rejection drugs she has had to
take, resulted in the sudden loss of her hair.
What came back was pure white and... well
"missing" in large part.) see pictures. <very
big sigh>

Because of these illnesses, the
newsletter (which she had humbly-named
theJeanneScottletter) has fallen on to hard
times. In its place, she has joined the 21st
century with a "blog." You have to work a little
harder to get to it ... at
http://www.health-politics.com/issue.html
With her advancing age (Jeanne proudly notes
that she has entered her "70th" year ... with
all the biblical ramifications that might be
read into that <smile>. And while her "blog"
will focus on health care reform news and
information, it is far more subjectively
political than her old newsletter, if that is at
all possible. You knw what they say about
"old people" their inhibitions start to break
down and they speak their minds without some of
their old reserve and tact.

Jeanne
Scott Matthews is often on the
speaker's circuit,
popular for her sometimes over the top humor,
trying to salvage just a bit of her sanity in
the face of the many
challenges facing the health care industry. With
the passage of PPACA (the "Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act of 2010," otherwise
known as "Obamacare" (a term which
both CNN and the New York Times have credited
her with coining ... or at least being the first
to use it in print) her plate has
been fuller than ever. After all as Vice
President Biden so eloquently put it, "this is a
big [bleeping[ deal." But since then, the
law's opponents have been on the attack. Tea
Party Republicans swept the fall 2010 elections
vowing to repeal the new law. Will they? Most
polls show that with the exception of the
insurance mandate provision, Americans favor the
new law, especially the protections afforded
against predatory private insurance companies.
What will happen in 2012 and beyond?even more change is in the
offing. You wouldn't want to miss Jeanne's
interpretation of these events and her
prognostication as to what she thinks will
happen in 2011 and beyond (delivered in her
inimical but informative and entertaining
fashion). See her topics and schedule on the
speaking page.

"...a
passion for healthcare combined with a Jeanne
Scott presentation should NOT be mixed with
alcohol."

The
resources page
includes some of her helpful -- or at least
insightful and interesting -- links to other
sites,... but this
page is also a "work-in-progress" and will
(hopefully) soon be re-vamped, better indexed
and made more "resourceful" ... er, full of
resources. Still it is worth a visit as it is
now.

On
her
thoughts page,
you'll find Jeanne's even more irreverent
musings along with her Mencken-like curmudgeonly
views on the state of U.S. health care and the
prospects for reform... or demise. Jeanne turned
65 on 2008 and became a Medicare beneficiary
herself. As a recent victim of the health care
industrial complex, her views have sharpened and
with advancing years, the inhibitions of her
youth have faded away. Prepare yourself, and
maybe engage with her in a little dialog about
the issues of the day. An addition not to
be missed: the top 18
Biggest and Baddest Lies about PPACA
("Obamacare")

And of course, Jeanne had to
include her lawyer jokes, top ten lists and
other legendary materials she has collected over
the years; you'll find these on her
humor page ...
which is updated usually on or about the first
day of the week with new ... or at least "newer"
lawyer jokes, stories, lies or truths.

And who is this Jeanne Scott
Matthews after all? Visit her
up close and personal
page for pictures of her grandchildren and
family and for a little bit more of the "gossip"
about Jeanne.